US8802174B2 - Method of preparing coffee infusions and machine for achieving same - Google Patents

Method of preparing coffee infusions and machine for achieving same Download PDF

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Publication number
US8802174B2
US8802174B2 US13/989,310 US201113989310A US8802174B2 US 8802174 B2 US8802174 B2 US 8802174B2 US 201113989310 A US201113989310 A US 201113989310A US 8802174 B2 US8802174 B2 US 8802174B2
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pressure
duct
liquid
dispensing unit
machine
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US13/989,310
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US20130259995A1 (en
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Giancarlo Porzio
Carlo Carbonini
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Ranchilio Group SpA
Rancilio Group SpA
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Ranchilio Group SpA
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Assigned to Rancilio Group S.p.A. reassignment Rancilio Group S.p.A. ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: CARBONINI, CARLO, PORZIO, GIANCARLO
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    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47J—KITCHEN EQUIPMENT; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; APPARATUS FOR MAKING BEVERAGES
    • A47J31/00—Apparatus for making beverages
    • A47J31/24—Coffee-making apparatus in which hot water is passed through the filter under pressure, i.e. in which the coffee grounds are extracted under pressure
    • A47J31/34—Coffee-making apparatus in which hot water is passed through the filter under pressure, i.e. in which the coffee grounds are extracted under pressure with hot water under liquid pressure
    • A47J31/36—Coffee-making apparatus in which hot water is passed through the filter under pressure, i.e. in which the coffee grounds are extracted under pressure with hot water under liquid pressure with mechanical pressure-producing means
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47J—KITCHEN EQUIPMENT; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; APPARATUS FOR MAKING BEVERAGES
    • A47J31/00—Apparatus for making beverages
    • A47J31/002—Apparatus for making beverages following a specific operational sequence, e.g. for improving the taste of the extraction product
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47J—KITCHEN EQUIPMENT; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; APPARATUS FOR MAKING BEVERAGES
    • A47J31/00—Apparatus for making beverages
    • A47J31/24—Coffee-making apparatus in which hot water is passed through the filter under pressure, i.e. in which the coffee grounds are extracted under pressure
    • A47J31/34—Coffee-making apparatus in which hot water is passed through the filter under pressure, i.e. in which the coffee grounds are extracted under pressure with hot water under liquid pressure
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47J—KITCHEN EQUIPMENT; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; APPARATUS FOR MAKING BEVERAGES
    • A47J31/00—Apparatus for making beverages
    • A47J31/44—Parts or details or accessories of beverage-making apparatus
    • A47J31/46—Dispensing spouts, pumps, drain valves or like liquid transporting devices
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47J—KITCHEN EQUIPMENT; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; APPARATUS FOR MAKING BEVERAGES
    • A47J31/00—Apparatus for making beverages
    • A47J31/44—Parts or details or accessories of beverage-making apparatus
    • A47J31/52—Alarm-clock-controlled mechanisms for coffee- or tea-making apparatus ; Timers for coffee- or tea-making apparatus; Electronic control devices for coffee- or tea-making apparatus

Definitions

  • the present invention generally relates to an espresso coffee machine comprising one or more dispensing units.
  • the present invention relates to a coffee machine in which the possibility of dispensing coffee from the dispensing units by means of water at different supply pressure values is provided.
  • the values of the supply pressure the reference literature in the field of coffee machines, in particular espresso coffee machines, has always defined a constant pressure of 9 bar as the ideal pressure value for preparing espresso coffee.
  • the prior art generally teaches generating a given constant value of the supply pressure (pressure) inside the espresso coffee machine by means of a motor-pump assembly, heating the water under pressure by means of a boiler and supplying the hot water under pressure through the dispensing unit so as to prepare espresso coffee.
  • a first problem in the prior art machines is that supply pressure regulation is generally a wholly manual operation, allotted to a specialised technician.
  • the technician in order to modify the pressure, the technician has to access the inside of the machine and to modify the supply pressure of the motor-pump assembly.
  • the new supply pressure however remains fixed until a possible subsequent intervention, again by a specialised technician.
  • a second problem is related to the possibility of having different pressures in the dispensing units.
  • espresso coffee machines have up to a maximum of four dispensing units, but a single pressure source.
  • the pressure generated by the motor-pump assembly is the same for all units and it does not allow mutually independent regulations.
  • a third problem, caused by the constant supply pressure, is a non-constant coffee cooking during its extraction.
  • a first dispensing phase pre-brewing
  • the resistance offered by the dispensing unit comprising filter and coffee powder dose
  • a second phase brewing
  • the resistance offered by the dispensing unit decreases, and hence the coffee dispensing is quicker since, according to the prior art, the pressure remains always constant
  • a third phase post-brewing
  • the resistance offered by the dispensing unit becomes almost zero, so that a flow of aqueous coffee occurs.
  • U.S. Pat. No. 4,583,449 discloses a construction scheme of a coffee machine comprising, for each dispensing unit, two water supply ducts arranged in parallel and alternating in operation, which ducts then join together near the boiler.
  • the first duct is directly connected to the dispensing unit through the boiler and allows preparing coffee by means of hot water at the mains pressure.
  • the second duct connected to the dispensing unit through the boiler, includes a pump arranged to increase the water pressure so as to allow preparing espresso coffee.
  • the prior art document has the problem of demanding a pump for each dispensing unit, and hence it is particularly complex and, consequently, prone to possible failures.
  • the object is achieved by the coffee machine and the method of carrying out a uniform coffee “cooking” as claimed herein.
  • the coffee machine comprises a single pump assembly and one or more units dispensing the coffee infusion, and each dispensing unit is associated with a pressure managing device arranged to supply the respective dispensing unit at variable pressures during the coffee brewing process.
  • the pressure managing device includes a first duct and at least one second duct that are connected in parallel and are supplied by the pump assembly, the first duct comprises a valve device electronically controlled by a control unit and the second duct comprises at least pressure reducing means.
  • the coffee machine allows applying, for instance: in a first phase or pre-brewing phase, a first pressure arranged to uniformly “wet” the coffee mixture and to uniformly extract coffee; in a second phase, or brewing phase, a second pressure, for instance higher than the previous one or even equal to the previous one, in order to extract the best organoleptic characteristics of the coffee mixture and to ensure a uniform “cooking”, with coffee cream emulsion; and, in a third phase or post-brewing phase, a third pressure, for instance lower than the previous one and lower than or equal to the first pressure, in order to avoid an aqueous coffee extraction when the coffee resistance is almost zero.
  • a barman can easily profile the pressure behaviour in wholly independent manner for each dispensing unit, so that the barmen can wholly exploit the characteristics of particularly selected coffee powders, even if not used or not known at present.
  • FIG. 1 schematically shows a first embodiment of the present invention
  • FIG. 2 schematically shows a second embodiment of the present invention.
  • a coffee machine 10 for instance an espresso coffee machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention, includes a plurality of machine devices, such as a boiler 12 associated for instance with a heat exchanging unit 29 , one or more dispensing units 14 associable with respective filter holders containing, in use, coffee powder doses, and respective nozzles 14 a , said components being arranged to enable preparing espresso coffee.
  • machine devices such as a boiler 12 associated for instance with a heat exchanging unit 29 , one or more dispensing units 14 associable with respective filter holders containing, in use, coffee powder doses, and respective nozzles 14 a , said components being arranged to enable preparing espresso coffee.
  • the machine further comprises a control unit 18 connected to various machine devices or units and arranged, as it will be disclosed below in detail, to control the operation of boiler 12 , of each dispensing unit 14 and of the devices the control unit is connected to.
  • machine 10 also comprises a pump 11 , for instance a positive displacement pump hydraulically supplied with water from the mains or with a liquid contained in a tank, the pump being arranged to raise the water pressure up to a preset pressure P 1 , e.g. 9 bar.
  • a pump 11 for instance a positive displacement pump hydraulically supplied with water from the mains or with a liquid contained in a tank, the pump being arranged to raise the water pressure up to a preset pressure P 1 , e.g. 9 bar.
  • a single pump is provided, independently of the number of dispensing units 14 , and it might even be located outside machine 10 .
  • a pressure managing device 20 comprising two channels or ducts 15 and 16 , respectively, connected to pump 11 , is provided downstream pump 11 for each dispensing unit 14 .
  • the first duct 15 comprises a valve device 25 , for instance an electrically operated valve, controlled by control unit 18 and arranged to turn on or off the supply of water at pressure P 1 to the respective dispensing unit 14 .
  • a valve device 25 for instance an electrically operated valve, controlled by control unit 18 and arranged to turn on or off the supply of water at pressure P 1 to the respective dispensing unit 14 .
  • the second duct 16 is arranged in parallel with the first duct 15 and comprises, for instance, a pressure reducing device (pressure reducer) 26 arranged to reduce pressure P 1 to a pressure P 2 , e.g. 4 bar, and a second valve device 27 , for instance an electrically operated valve, controlled by control unit 18 and arranged to turn on or off the supply of water at pressure P 2 , lower than pressure P 1 , to the respective dispensing unit 14 .
  • the second valve if turned on simultaneously with the turning off of the first electrically operated valve 25 , contributes to reducing the supply pressure.
  • pressure reducer 26 might be different for each dispensing unit, so as to allow different pressure reduction levels in duct 16 upstream electrically operated valve 27 .
  • duct 16 may for instance comprise pressure reducer 26 only and lack electrically operated valve 27 .
  • more than two ducts connected in parallel might be provided in pressure managing device 20 .
  • Each additional duct comprises devices corresponding to the devices provided in the second duct 16 , but pressure reducers 26 may operate according to different values in the different ducts connected in parallel.
  • the ducts join into a single duct 19 leading to heat exchanger 29 , of known type, and hence to dispensing unit 14 .
  • control unit 18 is arranged to:
  • machine 10 allows controlling at any instant (profiling) at least the water supply pressure at each dispensing unit, by suitably opening and closing the first and second valve 25 and 27 , respectively, under the control of control unit 18 .
  • pressure managing device 20 comprises a first duct 15 , substantially equivalent to the described one, and a second duct 16 , arranged in parallel with the first duct 15 but directly supplied with water from the mains, for instance at pressure values P 2 of about 2 to 4 bars, in any case lower than pressure P 1 present in the first duct 15 .
  • duct 16 comprises a valve 28 , e.g. a non-return valve, arranged to prevent water at pressure P 1 from flowing back to the second duct 16 supplying water at pressure P 2 lower, in any case, than pressure P 1 .
  • a valve 28 e.g. a non-return valve
  • valve 28 might also be electronically controlled by control unit 18 in order to dynamically control the pressure of the liquid supplied to dispensing unit 14 .
  • Such embodiments allow profiling at any instant at least the water supply pressure of each dispensing unit 14 , by suitably opening and closing, under the control of control unit 18 , the first valve 25 , which is the only valve being controlled, or the first and the second valve 25 and 28 .
  • more than two ducts connected in parallel and operating at mutually different pressures might be provided in pressure managing device 20 .
  • the coffee dispensing process which generally lasts about 25 seconds, proceeds in the following way:
  • control unit 18 opens the first valve 25 and keeps the second valve 27 closed, so that a pressure P 3 equal to P 1 is present at the dispensing unit also in the pre-brewing phase.
  • control unit 18 closes the first valve 25 and opens the second valve 27 , so that a pressure P 3 equal to P 2 , and in any case lower than P 1 , is present at the dispensing unit.
  • pressure P 3 at the dispensing unit is managed by suitably controlling the first valve and by taking the pressure of water from the mains as reference pressure P 2 .
  • coffee machine 10 can:

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Food Science & Technology (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Apparatus For Making Beverages (AREA)
  • Tea And Coffee (AREA)
US13/989,310 2010-11-24 2011-11-23 Method of preparing coffee infusions and machine for achieving same Active US8802174B2 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
ITTO2010A0930 2010-11-24
ITTO2010A000930 2010-11-24
ITTO2010A000930A IT1403149B1 (it) 2010-11-24 2010-11-24 Macchina per caffe'
PCT/IB2011/055254 WO2012070002A1 (en) 2010-11-24 2011-11-23 Coffee machine

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US20130259995A1 US20130259995A1 (en) 2013-10-03
US8802174B2 true US8802174B2 (en) 2014-08-12

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Country Status (6)

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US (1) US8802174B2 (it)
EP (2) EP2837311B1 (it)
ES (2) ES2530756T3 (it)
IT (1) IT1403149B1 (it)
PT (2) PT2837311T (it)
WO (1) WO2012070002A1 (it)

Families Citing this family (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US9433318B2 (en) * 2013-08-30 2016-09-06 Seattle Espresso Machine Corporation System and apparatus for regulating flow rate in an espresso machine
CN108175279B (zh) * 2017-12-29 2020-11-06 王德涛 一种咖啡冲泡方法
DE102018123263A1 (de) * 2018-09-21 2020-03-26 Sysko Ag Getränkemaschinenvorrichtung
CN115379783A (zh) * 2021-03-17 2022-11-22 兰奇里奥集团股份公司 设置有用于咖啡粉饼的预浸泡的装置的咖啡机

Citations (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0073496A2 (de) * 1981-08-27 1983-03-09 Patzner GmbH + Co. Maschine zum Brühen von zwei Arten von Kaffee
US4583449A (en) 1983-05-03 1986-04-22 Wurttembergische Metallwarenfabrik Ag Coffee percolator for selectively making normal coffee or espresso
US5297472A (en) * 1992-09-29 1994-03-29 Vki Technologies, Inc. Beverage extraction device
EP0934719A1 (en) 1997-12-19 1999-08-11 CIMBALI S.p.A. Apparatus and process for preparing espresso coffee
DE19841680C1 (de) 1998-09-11 2000-03-02 Palux Ag Getränkebereiter, insbesondere Kaffeemaschine
EP1308115A1 (en) 2001-10-30 2003-05-07 Sanden Corporation Beverage extracting apparatus
EP1839541A1 (en) 2006-03-28 2007-10-03 Tuttoespresso S.p.a. Process and apparatus for preparing beverage under controlled pressure
EP2027798A1 (en) 2007-08-20 2009-02-25 Nestec S.A. Beverage production module and method for operating a beverage production module
US7698992B2 (en) * 2003-06-05 2010-04-20 Toptechnology Co., Ltd. Multi-function coffee maker

Patent Citations (11)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0073496A2 (de) * 1981-08-27 1983-03-09 Patzner GmbH + Co. Maschine zum Brühen von zwei Arten von Kaffee
US4583449A (en) 1983-05-03 1986-04-22 Wurttembergische Metallwarenfabrik Ag Coffee percolator for selectively making normal coffee or espresso
US5297472A (en) * 1992-09-29 1994-03-29 Vki Technologies, Inc. Beverage extraction device
EP0934719A1 (en) 1997-12-19 1999-08-11 CIMBALI S.p.A. Apparatus and process for preparing espresso coffee
DE19841680C1 (de) 1998-09-11 2000-03-02 Palux Ag Getränkebereiter, insbesondere Kaffeemaschine
JP2000083828A (ja) 1998-09-11 2000-03-28 Palux Ag コ―ヒ―機械などの飲物準備機
US6199472B1 (en) * 1998-09-11 2001-03-13 Palux Ag Beverage preparer, in particular coffee machine
EP1308115A1 (en) 2001-10-30 2003-05-07 Sanden Corporation Beverage extracting apparatus
US7698992B2 (en) * 2003-06-05 2010-04-20 Toptechnology Co., Ltd. Multi-function coffee maker
EP1839541A1 (en) 2006-03-28 2007-10-03 Tuttoespresso S.p.a. Process and apparatus for preparing beverage under controlled pressure
EP2027798A1 (en) 2007-08-20 2009-02-25 Nestec S.A. Beverage production module and method for operating a beverage production module

Non-Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
International Search Report for PCT/IB2011/055254 dated Feb. 21, 2012.
Mechanical English Translation for EP 73496 published Mar. 1983. *

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
PT2642903E (pt) 2015-02-25
EP2642903A1 (en) 2013-10-02
EP2642903B1 (en) 2014-12-17
ES2616803T3 (es) 2017-06-14
WO2012070002A1 (en) 2012-05-31
EP2837311A1 (en) 2015-02-18
ITTO20100930A1 (it) 2012-05-25
PT2837311T (pt) 2017-01-30
ES2530756T3 (es) 2015-03-05
US20130259995A1 (en) 2013-10-03
AU2011333386A1 (en) 2013-06-13
EP2837311B1 (en) 2016-12-14
IT1403149B1 (it) 2013-10-04

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